21. August 2019 By Walter Price 0

Something’s gotta give, SINGLE: L7 – “Holding Pattern” [Scatter the Rats]

L7 – Scatter the Rats is available @ Blackheart Records.

Seminal punk rockers, and a band that soundtracked many of my university-era endless summer nights, L7 on July 30, 2019, needed to post this lengthy Facebook post:

A STATEMENT FROM THE BAND:

Thank you to all who were able to come out and see us during our Scatter the Rats U.S. Tour this summer. We will have more dates coming up and news for our International fans for 2020, so stay tuned!

For those of you who generously backed the recording of our new album “Scatter the Rats” through Pledge Music crowdfunding, you know the frustrating Holding Pattern and run around we have all been in with them.

To give a brief summary for those not familiar with the Pledge Music scam, in a nutshell, the funds that many bands and their supporters raised through the crowdfunding platform were absconded by the company with zero accountability and unreturned legal appeals. Their site is no longer live and they are filing for bankruptcy protection in the U.K.

It’s been a disappointing, time consuming, and expensive mess for all artists and fans involved with this Pledge Music FIASCO.

As bad as it is, the band nonetheless has made the financial decision to honor our fans who pre-ordered the album through Pledge Music, and which they have yet to receive. Thanks to Joan Jett and Blackheart Records, L7 was able to manufacture and ship what would have been utterly impossible without their support. Pledge Music has held over twenty thousand dollars in shipping costs alone that we have no access to and will likely never see. However, L7 has made the financial commitment to honor these mailings. From the Borough of Brooklyn to the shores of Peru, every Pledger who paid for the record please take note, the music is on its way!

We do not wish to further comment on this situation as we do not want to be the face of being screwed over. L7 are bigger and mightier than this mess. The only time we will speak of this again will be in a courtroom.

So with the graciousness and empathy of our fans, we are turning this unfortunate page in an otherwise amazing chapter in our career.

Although our song “Holding Pattern” is not about this lousy experience with Pledge Music, we believe that we can all relate to its inspiration of being caught in a disheartening loop of stagnation in one way or another.

To karmically break this holding pattern and to say a big universal Thank You to the Best Fans in the World we want to take this opportunity for some fun – “Willy Wonka” style. With the help from Blackheart Records and Gibson Guitars one backer will find a GOLDEN TICKET in their envelope to receive Donita’s iconic Gibson Flying V guitar, signed and played on stage during the Scatter the Rats Tour! Whoa!

So, without further ado, Please enjoy our NEW VIDEO “Holding Pattern” and remember to ALWAYS…

Scatter the Rats!

We love you, L7

And as I’ve previously stated, the best way to show support for your favorite indie/DIY artist(s), is to go and stream and, ultimately, buy their hard work. I recently purchased L7’s latest single “Holding Pattern”. A track that is pure L7, a melodic and gritty trip through the realism of life’s locksteps, a tedious routine many performers, working folks find themselves in. Yet, could today be the day that breaks the monotony…Something’s gotta give.

Find a way to get paid everyday
Start the ride hold on tight
Take a pill, force yourself, make a call
Do it it’s just your life

PledgeMusic’s collapse is just one of the many obstacles artists have to navigate these days. And not all land on a substantial label, so go out and buy some music and support your favorite creators. Independent artists thrive with your patronage. And to quote a recent Tweet from Rosanne Cash, “I buy the same record on multiple formats, just to make up a tiny bit for all the freeloaders. Musicians have to pay their rent, like everyone else. @artistrightsnow”